They're words that will make a woman's blood boil every time they're used - and they're used a lot.

Now a new study spells these words out in black and white for anyone who might be confused about just how infuriating they are.

'Hysterical' for being rightly upset. Or 'bossy' for standing up for yourself and speaking your mind.

And what about a 'drama queen' for having a bit of passion. Or a 'ball breaker' because you've made a success of yourself?

Enough's enough, and the study carried out for a new Special K campaign fronted by former Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts, makes that pretty clear that women have had their fill of such negative language.

Nicola, 30, said: “It is a strange thing that in a modern society we still have room for language that holds strong women back.

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“It is very important young women in society grow up learning that you are not a ‘ball breaker’. If you are successful - you are simply a strong woman succeeding.

“Women should not allow themselves to be referred to as anything other than who they are in a professional setting."

Descriptions such as ‘hormonal’ ‘drama queen' and ‘bitchy’ topped the annoyance poll, followed by terms including ‘ball breaker’ and ‘diva’.

According to the results, nearly a third of women aged 16-24 have been told to ‘man up’ in the workplace.

Singer Nicola doesn't think women should be criticised just for being strong and successful (Photo: Getty / Karwai Tang)

Nearly a third questioned for the 'Strength Is...' campaign said they had been described as a ‘flirt’ or a ‘show off’ for being confident growing up - with 30% admitting this has affected their self-esteem later on in life.

Louise Thompson Davies, from Special K, said the campaign was about ‘inspiring inner strength in women’.

She said the responses lifted the lid on the lack of ‘strong female’ representation in society, with 51% of Brits believing a strong women is viewed negatively.

Louise said: “Society still has a way to go in expressing and describing strong women but together we can help advance the cause.

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“That’s also why we are giving women their own say. Together, we can hope to inspire each other to embrace our strength and rewrite what it means today.

“We hope to help change the language used to describe female strength and really celebrate what makes women feel strong.”